


Fair is Where You Buy Cotton Candy

by MsChievous



Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Broken Bones, Gen, Kinda, Mugging, Post-Battle City Arc, Revenge, Serious Injuries, The folks Yami Bakura beat up during BC to get their locator cards are back and ready for revenge, Whump, Whumptober 2020, Yami Bakura Being an Asshole, and ofc Ryou gets to suffer~
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsChievous/pseuds/MsChievous
Summary: Whumptober Day 15: PossessionRyou comes across a group of people that seem to have it out for him. Unfortunately for both of them, Yami Bakura comes out to play.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949494
Kudos: 6





	Fair is Where You Buy Cotton Candy

**Author's Note:**

> omg guys I just found out that I got into grad school to get my Master's in library science I'm so excited~! It seems fitting to be back on one of my original career paths while posting some fanfic for one of my original fandoms~

“See you tomorrow, Ryou!” Yuugi waves as his classmate ducks out the door.

Ryou offers a smile and a wave back. “See you then!” He calls before taking his leave. But deep down, betrayal nips at his heels. He presses his hand against the Millennium Ring beneath his uniform as he walks, wishing for any of this to make sense. Not only did Yuugi  _ lie _ to him about where the Ring was, but he was also acting like the entirety of Battle City just… didn’t happen. Like a part of him wasn’t ripped clean from his chest during their duel. 

Looking back, the answer had been so clear. All Yugi’s other self had to do was tell Ryou to surrender the duel, and there would have been no issue. As dazed as he had been at the time, he still would have had the presence of mind to do something as simple as  _ that _ , but he wasn’t even given the chance.

He sighs, brushing out the uniform and turning onto the walking path that served as a shortcut to the bus stop. He’s so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice the group walking towards them until he bumps into one of them. 

“Oh! I’m sorry, I should watch where I’m going!” He offers a quick bow in their direction and moves to continue on his way when a hand grabs him by the arm and drags him back. He glances back in surprise and catches sight of a young adult with a black eye and busted lip leering down at him.

“Hey, aren’t you that pretty boy that stole my god damn locator cards?”

Ryou tries to wrench himself away, but the man holds firm. “I-I don’t know what locator cards even are! I’m sorry I can’t help, but-”

“No,” an older woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, steps forward sporting an arm in a cast. “No, I recognize that fuckin’ face of yours,” she spits. “Stole three locator cards of mine. I was on track to be a finalist, too.”

Panic pounds in Ryou’s chest. He tries to calm it, as the Spirit wouldn’t be as forgiving to these thugs as Ryou was, but it’s hard when he’s being confronted by seven people older, taller, and bigger than him. And apparently angry at him. “A-a finalist?”

The first man scoffs. “As if you couldn’t know about Battle City. Saw you managed to be one of the finalists. I wonder how that happened? Lucky you got your ass kicked by the first place winner before you really had a chance to play I say.”

Realization hits and Ryou knows he’s in trouble. “Listen, I’m really sorry but you have to believe me, that wasn’t-”

A fist connects with his mouth and pain explodes in stars across his vision. Warm blood spurts from between his teeth as he stumbles back in the man’s grip. 

“Please,” he yelps around his injury, “you really don’t want to-”

Another fist connects with the side of his face as a second knocks all the wind out of him. He feels his legs go limp and the man who had a hold of him lets him drop to the pavement like a sack of bricks. He hits hard, head and shoulder smashing against the walkway. He bites down another yelp and something inside him  _ shifts _ .

Panic overwhelms him as he recognizes the feeling of the Spirit needling at the edges of his consciousness. But before he can try warning them again that they should stop, a foot crashes into his head, then stomps on his chest.

“I sayyyy… tit for tat,” the first woman grins. “Everything you did to each one of us, we’re gonna do to you. Capiche? Let’s start with the arm. No particular reason.” She grabs his wrist and starts to twist his arm around. 

The Spirit is fully alert, prowling at the edges of his consciousness, waiting for a weakness to appear. Ryou’s mental barriers are strong, but the Spirit is stronger still. It isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. He can only hope to hold out until these guys are far enough away that it won’t matter-

Once his arm is fully torqued around, there’s a moment of anticipation before an excruciating pain shoots through his whole left side. Two things break in that moment: his arm and his mental barriers. 

As he feels the control slipping away like grains of sand through his fingers, he begs,  _ Please don’t kill them, they’re not worth it. _

The Spirit gives no response.

* * *

He manages to claw control away from his host as the worthless idiot’s arm snaps painfully in twain. The woman still has his arm in a vice grip, and there’s a foot in his face, but nothing these mortals could do would incapacitate him like they would his pathetic Landlord. He lets his face scrape against the pavements to look at the woman, ignoring the pain of his skin being rubbed half-raw. 

“I do believe you are hurting my Host. How terribly rude of you.”

The woman looks rightfully unsettled at the smooth intonation of his voice. 

“He tried to warn you all, I’m afraid. But it’s one strike you’re out in my book and it seems the lot of you are overdue.”

* * *

Ryou blinks back awake in the waiting room of a hospital. Pain crashes through his entire body and it takes all his effort not to yell in pain. After a few moments to collect himself, he realizes there’s a nurse standing in front of him expectantly. “Mr. Bakura?” She asks kindly, “Right this way, and we’ll get you all patched up.”

_ You’re lucky you’ve already been here so I didn’t have to fill out any gods-damned forms of yours. _

The Spirit’s voice in his head gives him momentary pause.  _ Did you…. Are they? _

__ _ They took a trip to the Shadow Realm for a little while. Nothing physical, but mentally they will never be the same. _

__ Angry tears start to push out of the corners of his eyes.  _ They were just mad that  _ **_you_ ** _ beat them up for a  _ **_card game_ ** _. It’s your fault they attacked me, not theirs. And now you’re just punishing them for standing up for themselves. _

__ The Spirit chuckles.  _ Ah, yes, because treating a young boy as a punching bag is certainly the behavior of those ‘standing up for themselves’ _ , he mocks.

“Mr. Bakura?” The nurse looks at him in concern and he realizes that he’s been standing in front of a chair for an uncomfortable about of time. “I think we have a few more tests to run, okay?”

* * *

He gets back from the hospital late the next day. A broken arm, a concussion, a chipped tooth, and more contusions than he can count on both hands. He claimed it was from a couple of muggers but he’s not sure anyone really believed him. Oh well, it’s not like they’d believe the truth.

In the solitude of their apartment, the Spirit gives himself an incorporeal form and hovers next to Ryou. “So when will you continue working on that diorama?” He asks casually.

Anger festers in Ryou’s chest and even though he knows it will do no good, he throws the hospital’s instructions at the spirit. A flurry of papers flutter uselessly around and through the Spirit’s form. “Not for a  _ long _ time!” he hisses. “You do  _ this _ to me and expect me to listen to what you  _ want _ ? What you  _ demand _ ? I am  _ through _ listening to you. You have hurt my friends, made my life a living hell and gone against everything that I requested. How the hell do you expect me to continue working with you?”

The Ring turns painfully hot and heavy around his neck as the shadows of Ryou’s apartment twist and throb as if they’re alive and ready to rip him to shreds. From those shadows, Ryou hears terrifyingly familiar sounds of moaning and sobbing and he feels his throat close up at the memory of the Shadow Realm.

“I think…” the Spirit hisses, floating closer to Ryou and drawing the shadows close, “that you don’t have much choice in the matter.”


End file.
